ccolopy
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Posts posted by ccolopy
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DS12 is just finishing up 6th grade. He's on the old end of his grade, works mostly at an 8th/9th grade level and enjoys working independently. He usually works on his own in the morning, then with me after I finish with DD9.
Math (AoPS) - 100% independent.
Arabic (CTY online class) - 100% independent.
Science (Rainbow) - Written work 100% independent, labs with two friends and minimal parental involvement.
Writing (WWS) - He writes, then we go over it together.
Literature (OM8) - This has turned out to be more interesting to do together, but he could do a lot of it independently if necessary. We do the assigned reading separately.
History (a mix of things) - He has assigned reading 3-4 days per week, then we discuss and work on the occasional project or writing assignment together.
French (a mix) - 100% with me. I'm trying to keep it fun and teach good study habits at the same time.
We started out with me giving him a verbal checklist for the morning, but most of it became routine. He knows that he has to meet deadlines in his Arabic class, so he works on that first thing in the morning. Science has to be done before his friends come over for the lab on Friday. Math has to be done every day, and he can stop at any natural break after 40 minutes. I assign reading when we're finishing up with literature or history for the day, by sticking another bookmark in each book.
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DS (finishing 6th grade) spends 5-5.5 hours on academic subjects. This includes keeping up with an online class, at least an hour of math and about an hour of assigned reading.
I didn't really know how to vote for electives, because we don't count them as part of school, and they vary so much from day to day. For instance, today, DS practiced guitar for about 30 minutes, then called a friend to come over and learn a song with him. They worked on it for at least an hour, had a snack, then played basketball in the driveway for another hour. Is this 2.5 hours of electives, or just being a kid? I'll probably have to figure this out for high school, but for now, I don't worry about it.
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My two nephews (who we've raised since they were 11 and 14) just got back from a quick trip to Costa Rica. Next week, the 19yo starts work at a gymnastics camp. The 21yo will work as a babysitter/buddy to a 12yo boy with autism. For the last two summers, he's worked as a counselor at a camp for kids with special needs. Neither of them has had any trouble finding work. The summer camps around here seem to have a shortage of male counselors.
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I agree with MrsH that it might be the whole trip, rather than the flight that is too much for the daughter.
I would send either of my kids, at 9 and 12, as long as a friend or relative was able to pick them up at the airport and keep an eye on them for the weekend. If they were basically on their own for the weekend, I'd wait until 15/16, or however old they have to be to stay in a hotel alone.
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I've used both series with my DS, who is advanced, in 4th and 5th grades. I also read the Famous Men books aloud to DD, who was in 1st/2nd. I agree with Paradox5, that the Famous Men appropriate for 4th/5th, while Mills' is more suited to middle school, but that they go well together. I do think you could use Mills' books in early high school, if you had a student who wasn't ready for something like History of the Ancient World.
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We read it when my kids were in 1st and 4th, but DD has reread it many times since then. I don't think 3rd is too early.
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That seems reasonable when history and science aren't included. We do each of those 4 days per week, so DD spends at least 3 hours every day on school work, not including reading.
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Yes. Ds had read them all by that point. He's since reread them at least 5 times each, so I wouldn't worry about what he's missing by reading it early.
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I got 28. boscopup seems to be right except for the last step. 14x2 = 28
Rita had 33 and gave away 5 to make 28.
Zoe had 9 and accepted 5 to make 14.
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My kids would be sticking out the season, both to honor their commitment to the team (9 is old enough to understand this) and because "it's too hard" is never a good enough excuse in our house.
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DS12 - 8-9 hours
DD9 - 10-11 hours
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What classes is your 12-year-old taking right now?
Latin sounds like a good idea to me, or any other language he's interested in.
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He agrees with all my decisions and pays my credit card bill. He also keeps track of DS's online course and his science labs/materials.
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Chocolate. Always chocolate.
1. Library books that DS needs to bring back tomorrow.
2. College textbooks that I found on the floor of my car.
3. All of DD's math materials. We're having a "meeting" in the morning to plan out the rest of the year.
4. Three highlighters, two markers and no pens.
5. Chocolate. Oh, and Pepsi.
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DS is in his second year with Rainbow, and has enjoyed it for the most part. He does the written work independently, then gets together to do the labs with two friends, so my own experience with it is pretty limited.
According to DS, the first three sections (physics, chemistry & biology) are really good, but he doesn't see anything in the fourth section that he doesn't already know.
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I would lean toward holding her back. Both of my kids are on the older end for their grade (my 6th grader turned 12 in November), and I can really see the difference in their friends who are on the younger end. Also, having one more year at home to work on her trouble spots will give her a better foundation for high school. If she makes major leaps ahead in maturity and language arts, you could then enroll her in 9th grade instead of 8th.
As for math, I would probably let her get started with some geometry alongside algebra 1. We liked Key to Geometry, but Patty Paper Geometry gets great reviews and I'm sure there are other options that don't require algebra. AoPS might not seem as daunting 18 months from now - DS is loving AoPS Geometry, but it would have been waaayy over his head last year. Even if it's still not a good fit, and the high school won't let her test out of geometry, repeating math would not be a big enough issue for me to send her to school a year earlier.
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According to DS, Dumbledore never said it. He's usually pretty good about this kind of thing.
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I would get a 5. My DD's league still uses a size 4 for games, but she finds a size 5 fine at home. DS has been using size 5 in games for a few years now.
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Yes, for all three. I'd pick C over A if I had the choice, but take the bus if that's what the team is doing.
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For you - The Bielski Brothers, by Peter Duffy and The Mascot, by Mark Kurzem are fairly unique stories that we (Dh, Ds and I) all found interesting. I would say that the first half of Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl, is a must-read.
For your Dd - Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli, Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry, Daniel's Story and After the War, by Carol Matas are a good intro to the topic.
Ds has also read a book from the perspective of a member of the Hitler Youth, called I Was There, but he can't remember whether it would be appropriate for a 10yo.
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I agree with the other posters, there is plenty of math to fill out four years of high school, whether you add in extra topics, go beyond calculus or both. They'll count for high school credit because you decide what counts. For instance, here in Ohio, the high school graduation requirements state that students must have four years of math, including algebra II. But, homeschoolers don't have to meet those requirements. They're a nice guideline, and we'll meet them in every other subject, but for math, they just don't make sense for my DS.
The other is how to meet the needs of taking upper level math courses so the student is able to actually have 4 yrs of math credit during high school. That can be complicated by 2 issues:Perhaps the student does not really like math and the idea of pursuing 200 and 300 level math courses simply bc they need 4 yrs of math to graduate from high school could become an issue. (I do actually have a child like this. She is a very strong math student, but she really doesn't like math. Even at a very relaxed pace she is completing geometry as an 8th grader. I'm not sure how she is going to feel about calculus in 11th, but that is the path she is going to have to take.)
I was a little hesitant to post, because I'm afraid we'll be running into this issue in a few years. DS was very, very interested in math when he was 8, 9 and 10 and he still enjoys it, but his main interests have changed. He's now talking about majors and careers that won't even require calculus. Even using AoPS and taking detours into number theory and probability, he'll be starting calculus in 10th. Maybe 11th, but that would be stretching it.
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Another vote for Sonlight D+E. It actually does include workbooks - The Story of the USA, books 1-4. You can see samples of them on cbd.com.
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My DS and nephews love Ned Vizzini, especially It's Kind of a Funny Story. :)
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Math: MUS Epsilon & Zeta or Math Mammoth Fractions & Decimals "Dark Blue" books
LOF Intermediate, FractionsScience: Oak Meadow
Ellen McHenry The Brain & ElementsWinter Promise Equine ScienceHistory: Oak Meadow/Sonlight
English: Oak Meadow
MCT TownThe Creative Writer/Writing MagicFrench: Pulling things together for this - shifting focus toward grammar and writing
Music: Piano, flute & music theory
Art: Hopefully an outside class
PE: Ballet, swimming & soccer
Do we have a 7th grade thread for next year yet?
in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges
Posted
I've just about figured out both 7th and 8th grade for DS12, so these 7th grade plans are unlikely to change much before September. Over the summer, he'll continue with math, work through LOF Physics and take a few music courses through Coursera.
Math:
AoPS Introduction to Geometry (finish)
AoPS Introduction to Counting and Probability
Science:
Physics - A friend is teaching this to her two sons, DS and another boy. She hasn’t picked a textbook yet, but I’m glad the decision is out of my hands!
History:
K12 Human Odyssey, Volume 3
English:
5 units from Excellence in Literature: Introduction to Literature
8-10 other novels, a few speeches, essays, poems, etc.
Writing With Skill 2 (possibly only half)
Caesar's English 1
Arabic:
CTY online course in the fall, just reviewing after Christmas.
French:
En bonne forme/Grammaire progressive/La portée des sons
A few novels and films